Ying Yunwei

• Name — Ying Yunwei • Born — 7 September 1904 • Birthplace — Shanghai, Qing dynasty • Died — 17 January 1967 • Place of death — Shanghai, China • Occupation — Film director, theatre director, writer Ying Yunwei (7 September 1904 – 17 January 1967) born in Shanghai, was a Chinese director and writer.

Ying Yunwei at the age of 16 was a poor student growing up. He would spend time with an apprenticeship in foreign trade. He was a pioneer of spoken drama and had a successful career in the shipping industry of Shanghai. A confidential police report stated that Ying's power was linked to his close personal relationship with Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong, two of Shanghai's powerful mafia bosses. His apprenticeship in foreign trade however would last up until 1934 where he would promptly resign. In 1921 Ying had participated in an organization known as the Shanghai Drama Association and In August 1930 the China Left-wing Drama Alliance. Ying, during his time in the alliance, participated in the left-wing drama film movement in Shanghai.

Ying Yunwei's film career began in the mid 1930s. During this time he worked for Yuhua and Diantong. A tabloid journalist revealed that Yihua refused to raise his salary, this resulted in Ying's departure and arrival in Mingxing. In 1934, Shanghai Film Studios reestablished itself within a new left-wing film company known as Diantong. Ying would be listed under the director lineup with his film, Plunder of Peach and Plum (also known as Fate of Graduates, 1934). Later in 1934 after his departure from foreign trade Ying would organize the Shanghai Amateur Drama Association and in 1936 work as the executive director of Mingxing's Studio II. When Ying was asked about why he joined Mingxing, Ying stated he was a friend of Zheng Zhengqiu and had already been invited nearly a decade earlier. In his 1938 film, The Eight Hundred Heroes, it is noted that this film was created during the time of the Battle of Shanghai and that the film Ying directed was a way to boost nation morale in the face of Japanese aggression during this time. In his 1934 film, Plunder of Peach and Plum, it is known to be China's debut as the first complete talkie with a film soundtrack.

On January 16, 1967, Ying Yunwei was pushed down to death during a rebellion within two factions of the Film Bureau. He died at age 62.

• Year — English title — Chinese title — Notes • 1934 — Plunder of Peach and Plum — 桃李劫 — Also co-writer • 1935 — A Hero of Our Time — 時勢英雄 • 1936 — Revolutionaries — 生死同心 • 1938 — 800 Heroes — 八百壯士 • 1940 — Storm on the Border — 塞上風雲 • 1947 — Cherish the Memory of Jiangnan — 憶江南 — Co-director • The Anonymous — 無名氏 • 1948 — Smooth Sailing — 一帆風順 • The Dawning — 雞鳴早看天 • 1949 — Awakening — 喜迎春 • 1951 — Phoenix Reborn — 再生鳳凰 • The Annals of Women — 婦女春秋 — Co-director • 1954 — Can't Follow Along That Path — 不能走那條路 • 1956 — Song Shijie — 宋士傑 — Co-director, Peking opera film • 1959 — Chasing the Fish — 追魚 — Yue opera film • 1960 — The Poetry-Contest Pavilion — 斗诗亭 — Yue opera film • 1961 — The Stage Art of Zhou Xinfang — 周信芳的舞台艺术 — 2 Peking opera acts starring Zhou Xinfang • 1963 — Wu Song — 武松 — Co-director, Peking opera film